Good Age VIDEO: 'They bring the grace with them'

The Hingham Ice Dancers are a group of skaters, ages 60 to 82, who practice weekly at the Pilgrim Skating Arena to prepare for competitions and just to have fun. They feel rejuvenated as they flow, chasse and do swing rolls.

I had expected to find laid-back grandparents moving leisurely on the ice. Instead, as I stood at one end of the rink, I was startled to see people speeding toward me, executing sweeping turns, intricate steps and deft stops.

Welcome to the Hingham Ice Dancers – a dozen men and women, ages 60 to 82, including competitive skaters and serious students. They defy both age and gravity as they whirl along to the fiesta tango and the Dutch waltz at the Pilgrim Skating Arena, three times a week.

“We are just a bunch of old diehards who will be skating until we drop,” Joan Smith, 79, of Hingham, said in good fun. “It’s better than a psychiatrist. If you have any cares at all, you just skate around and feel wonderful.”

The Ice Dancers work with two professional figure skating coaches, Collin Sullivan of Boston and Cathy Nutter of Canton. Sullivan, who performed with Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming, glides up, arm in arm, with Jean Alberti, 79, of Quincy. Today, Alberti said, she is working on swing rolls, chasses (sashays), “looking up off the ice and enjoying myself.”

Sullivan beams with pride. “These are some of my favorite pupils, because they work so hard and they practice and they probably love it more than the kids do,” he said. “They bring all the grace with them to the ice. I just help them with the technical – timing, flow, line, extension.”

Another couple – mother and son – whiz by to the Westminster waltz. Jane King, 71, of Weymouth, a retired skating instructor, taught her son, Jack Nash of Cohasset, to skate from age 4. He’s now 49. In this group, the duo is known for their “smooth glides and soft knees.”

Around the bend come Polly Jordan, 81, petite and quick, and Everett Tufts, 82, the elder “skatesman.” He moves a bit tentatively because he is still recovering from a hip replacement but said, “This keeps your legs in good shape and you feel good afterwards.”

At 81, isn’t Jordan afraid of falling down and breaking something? Not at all, she assured me. “We do what our teachers tell us, keep our core straight and strong, and just don’t worry about it. We could get hurt at home.”

And when she’s done, rejuvenation: “I don’t even feel that I’m 80. You just begin to wonder when that happened.”

The Ice Dancers welcome all ages, including beginners. Call the arena at 781-749-6660 for information.

Thank you, Nancy Randall and Warren Kirkland of Weymouth, for the tip.

Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@ledger.com, 617-786-7044, or The Patriot Ledger, Box 699159, Quincy 02269-9159. Read her Good Age blog on our Web site.